My Three Journals

I've often poo poo'd journals. I think of them as somewhat masturbatory in nature. If you're going to write, why not just write. But I didn't really understand and value journals until this Randall Ward fellow (my boss) said maybe a third time about the business value of a daily journal. So, I capitulated, and then saw the value. Which I'll now explain, as I talk to you about how I went from hating all journaling to now keeping 3 different types of journals.

My Three Journals

First, you might just read Building a Second Brain, by Tiago Forte (or just peep his YouTube channel, which is really top shelf).

I have a paper journal. I write in it daily. My method is reasonably simple. On the left side, I have a set of daily tasks/rituals that map to my larger success. Habits breed success. On the right side, I write a page a day (sometimes include little clippings or photos), about anything. Sometimes, it's gratitude. Other times, it's who came over or what I had to eat (especially if I suspect I'll get a bad belly from it - looking at you, Mediterranean Pizza). The purpose of the journal is to keep a running log and also allow for a bit of brain dumping of my life outside of work.

Journal two is digital and it's the notes program Obsidian. I keep a daily log there for work stuff, and let that branch out into individual notes from various meetings I have during the day. Some are coaching notes or general check-ins. I use the "linking" tech in Obsidian so that my daily log might say something like "Bob - Meeting Structure" and then right after that, I'll type [[ (which tells Obsidian that I'm going to add a file), and the type the first few letters of the file where Bob and I went deep into meeting structure. I also linked notes from the CFO on the same topic. Thus, my daily journal now has some linking structures that make it super useful.

My third journal is newer than the rest and it's just Google Keep for my 10 ideas. I wrote about this the other day, so I won't repeat. (See? The benefit of the digital kind of notes and journals.)

Each Has a Specific Value

The paper journal exists as a way to meditate on paper. I write gratitude lists. I write little manifestation ideas ("I'm applying my wealth to creative growth projects"). I remember how happy I was that my not-outwardly-expressive-of-their-affection oldest kid said "I love you" the other day. (I reread that page a lot.)

The linked digital notes in Obsidian do what Forte said about a second brain. It lets me gather up a LOT of thoughts, facts, ideas, and visuals into a digital format that's searchable, linkable, expandable, and so on.

The list of ideas in Keep replaces several social media apps. I deleted Twitter off my phone. I haven't used IG or Facebook for two-plus years. Keep gives me value instead of me blathering reflexively into social media apps.

Should YOU Journal?

I can tell you that I still create lots of content (like these posts to you) even though I also type into my two digital journals and hand write into the paper one. So my original feeling that journals are masturbatory and get in the way of words you can devote to your books and writing projects might have been misplaced. My paper journal feels like a great way to track my habits and reflect on my day.

I can tell you that when Randall asks me something about work, I have detailed notes, or in the absence of detailed notes, I sometimes have started notes and that absence means the meeting was probably a little less productive for me. (If you bore me, I get distracted, and thus fewer notes). My digital journal feels like a great way to build a second brain (a la Forte).

I can tell you that my Google Keep 10 Ideas practice gives me LOTS of content material to produce at any given time, which is obviously more valuable than tweeting my feelings at any given moment. This Keep journal feels like a great way to keep my creative juices flowing.

Your mileage may vary. Do you keep a journal? What kind? Have you found it valuable? Or do you just do it because someone said you should?

Chris...